DEME launched the advanced subsea cable installation and trenching vessel »Living Stone« at the LaNaval shipyard close to Bilbao, Spain[ds_preview], September 18. The cable installation vessel is equipped with two turntables below deck, each having a 5,000t cable capacity. Together the turntables can carry and transport more than 200km of cable that can be installed in a single trip. Ample deck space of 3,500m2 facilitates a cable handling system with innovative and reliable cable handling tools for cable ends, connections and cable protection systems. The ship can be equipped with a third carrousel above deck with an additional load capacity of 2,000t and a 600t crane. A system developed in-house by Tideway enables the »Living Stone« to install cables faster and more efficiently in longer lengths. The vessel will serve transport and installation projects as well as offshore power cable installations, interconnectors for the future European Supergrid. The ship has been designed as an environmentally friendly vessel with dual fuel engines with LNG being its prime fuel. The vessel can accommodate a crew of up to 100 and will be deployed by DEME’s Dutch subsidiary Tideway. It is scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017.
